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NEWSLETTER ISSUE NO. 1 - 13th FEBRUARY 2020

UPCOMING EVENTS

FEBRUARY

Welcome BBQ - Wednesday 19th - 5.00-

7.30pm

Book Club Orders Due - Friday 21st

Grade 3-6 Swimming Carnival - Thursday

27th - Clarence Pool

MARCH

Eight Hour Day (Public Holiday) - Monday

9th

HCSSA Swimming Carnival - Wednesday

18th - Huonville Pool

National No Bullying Day - Friday 20th

APRIL

Walkathon - Wednesday 8th - Further

details TBC

Last Day Term 1 - Wednesday 8th

Student Free Day - Thursday 9th

First Day Term 2 - Monday 27th

It has been a very successful start to the school year with

students and staff settling into the daily routines and establishing

the supportive environments that assist learning. As always, term

1 is a very busy time of the year with a number of whole school

events that provide the opportunities for students to participate

and for families to re-connect with the school, building on the

sense of community that has been long established at Illawarra

Primary. Some of these events are:

Next Monday the first student assembly for the year will

be held. Due to the success last year of holding separate

assemblies for early childhood and primary, with a whole

school assembly at the end of each term, this practice will

continue in 2020. As a result, next week’s

assembly commencing at 2.00pm will be for the early

childhood classes, hosted by Grade 1/2 Coombes.

Next Wednesday 19th February the school will be holding

its Greet the Teacher/Welcome BBQ. This annual event

continues to provide the opportunity for teachers to meet

informally with parents and then for the school community

to socialise and enjoy each other’s company as we

celebrate the beginning of another school year. Prep-

Grade 6 classrooms will be open from 5:00pm to 6:00pm

with the BBQ running from 5:00pm to 7:30pm.

On Thursday 27th February the school will hold its annual

3-6 Swimming Carnival at the Clarence Aquatic Centre.

This day is looked forward to with much anticipation and

excitement, especially for the Grade 3 students as they

participate in their first primary grade event. It has always

been well supported by parents and I would encourage

everyone who has some free time to come along and

cheer on the great number of students who compete and

participate in novelty activities throughout the day. The

program for the day is in this newsletter.

2020 TERM DATES

Term 1 5 Feb - 9 Apr

Regatta Day 10 Feb

Eight Hour Day 9 Mar

Term 2 27 Apr - 3 July

Queens Birthday 8 June

Term 3 20 July - 25 Sept

Term 4 12 Oct - 17 Dec

Show Day 22 Oct

As is the case every year, there are certain aspects of

school improvement that will continue to be a focus for

the staff and students. The decision of what the school

prioritises is determined by using a variety of academic

and social measures as well as the in-depth knowledge

and understanding we have of the school community.

The school improvement priorities for Illawarra Primary

this year will be:

Quality Teaching and Learning – specifically build-

ing on the work that was commenced last year in

Numeracy, students understanding the big ideas in

number and continuing the implementation of a

common instructional model for writing.

Inquiry Based Learning – using the understanding

developed by ECE teachers’ involvement in the

Refocussing Teaching and Learning in the Early

Years to develop a whole school approach to

concept based inquiry learning that enhances and

supports student engagement.

Student Wellbeing – supporting students to

develop a strong sense of wellbeing so that they can

explore, experiment and actively engage in their

learning environment with confidence and optimism.

Progress of these priorities will be shared and reported

in variety of ways to the school community throughout

the course of the year.

Wishing everyone a safe and productive 2020 school

year.

INTRODUCING THE

SCHOOL FAIR IN 2020

We have been fortunate to

secure the voluntary services of

the amazing Amy Groves-

Bosworth from House of A

Event Management to be our

Fair Co-ordinator for 2020!!!

Amy has shared with us that she

is a fair fanatic, so we are very

excited to begin planning and

organising for next year.

VOLUNTEERS

We will need an abundance of volunteers, so if you

would like to be involved in ANY aspects of the fair,

please email Amy at houseofaem@bigpond.com

Reminder – HATS

A reminder that caps are not sun safe as they do not

provide neck, ear or side of the face protection. Only

broad brimmed, bucket and legionnaire hats can be worn

at school and can be purchased for $10 from the office.

It’s also a good idea to apply sunscreen in the morning

before school as the UV rating will continue to climb as

the days get warmer.

INFORMATION FROM THE OFFICE

School Levies 2020

Invoices for levies for 2020 have been prepared and should have been received by families.

School levies and charges form an essential proportion of school income. All parents and guardians, other

than those approved under the Student Assistance Scheme, are expected to contribute towards the cost of

their child’s education.

There are a number of payment options available to parents/guardians:

Cash or credit card at the school office during office opening hours on school days

Bpay, Bpoint

Service Tasmania

Payment plan

Parents/guardians are encouraged to discuss payment of levies as early as possible if there is difficulty in

payment. A confidential payment plan can be arranged by talking to our School Business Manager, Deb

Doole. A payment plan offers flexibility to assist families to budget. Payments can be made weekly,

fortnightly, monthly or at other agreed times.

Student Assistance Scheme (STAS)

Student Assistance is available for parents or guardians who meet the criteria or an income test. If you think

that you may be eligible please see the office for an application form. Families approved for STAS are not

required to pay levies but may be asked to pay other charges eg. Grade 6 camp, Band program

Medical Action Plans

Parents/guardians of students with medical action plans are required to provide the school with all relevant

current medical information on enrolment, at the beginning of each school year and in the event of any

changed circumstances. It is a requirement that the school has an updated Action Plan every 12 months

signed by the treating Medical Practitioner.

It is the parent/guardian responsibility to ensure that all medications required under the plan are in date.

Medications

No medication can be given without completing a form provided by the Department of Education. These

forms are available at the office. All medication must be stored in the school office, no medication can be in

students’ bags (except for Asthma puffers).

Students with asthma must have an up-to-date asthma plan. This plan is to be provided to the school office.

Uniform Shop

Our Uniform Shop is open 3 days per week during school terms, Monday 8:45am to 9:15am, Tuesday

2:30pm to 3:00pm and Wednesday 8:45am to 9:15am. We have a group of volunteers who come in during

these times and help out with sales - sometimes weekly, fortnightly, monthly whenever they can. We have

lost a couple of our regular volunteer this year so we are looking to recruit. If you have any free time and

would like to volunteer please contact the school office. There is no handling of money. If you are unsure

come and give it a go!

CANTEEN NEWS

Hello families!

We are looking for someone special to run the school

canteen on Thursdays during school terms!

This a very important part of our school and many

students love receiving a lunch order or buying a treat or

two every week!

If you would be interested in finding out more about this

role, please email us at ipschoolassociation@gmail.com or

pop into the school office and have a chat to Deb or

Cassie.

Kind regards

Illawarra Primary School Association (Vanessa, Kate, Jane

& Emma)

LIL PADEMELONS FOR 2020

LiL Pademelons will run on Fridays again this year, starting

Friday the 14th of February.

To ensure the room is not overcrowded and that it is

most enjoyable for everyone, we will trial two sessions

during Term 1:

9:00-10:30 Babies/pre-toddlers (0-2 y.o.)

11:30-1:00 Pre-Kinders/toddlers (3-4 y.o.)

The age range is just a guide, but each session will be

aimed more at the specified age group. Each family would

attend just one session.

If you have more than one child, come to the session

which suits you best. If you can only attend at a certain

time, come to that session.

Any questions can be emailed to:

lilly.taylor@education.tas.gov.au

The year has started and we are in full swing to get things happening for music. Some of you may have been hearing

from students about recorder, marimba etc. so this information is just to let you know what we can offer at Illawarra

this year.

Beginner Recorder will be starting over the next few weeks on a Monday afternoon on non-Assembly days. Students

will have access to school recorders that are disinfected after each use. At a later date parents/carers will be able to

purchase recorders from the school for $10 each. Students will be given sheet music to practise. If parents/carers can

provide their child with a folder for music to be kept in this would be appreciated.

Advanced Recorder is for students who have already learnt recorder for one year. This will be open to students from

Grades 4 through to Grade 6 and will be held on a Tuesday from 12.30 – 1pm.

Grade 5/6 Marimba will be held on a Tuesday afternoon from 2.20pm until the end of the day. Priority will be given to

Grade 6 students.

Grade 2 Choir will be held on a Friday from 1.40 – 2.20pm with the Grade 3 – 6 Choir on the same afternoon from

2.20 until 3pm.

The Band Program will continue for Grade 5/6 students as has been done in previous years.

We aim for all groups to have opportunities to perform in assemblies and activities outside of the school. Information

will be sent out prior to any excursion and from time to time there are activities outside of school hours that we

encourage students to perform in, but this is not compulsory.

We really hope your child enjoys being part of these specialist music activities and I thank you in advance for

supporting your child in these activities. We are very fortunate to be able to provide such a diverse music program

here at Illawarra Primary.

Yours in music

Cynthia Howard – Music Teacher